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I thought I had a home intruder early this morning.

It turns out that I didn't, but I'll get to that. Over the last week the wife has been battling a cold and I have had some allergy issues. So after putting our son to bed around 9, she took some Nyquil and I took some allergy meds. Of course both make you sleepy. In our haste to get some sleep we forgot to set the alarm. Even when the alarm is not activated it still has a feature that tells you when a door or window has been opened. Imagine the surprise we both got at 1am when our alarm beeped twice and said "back door open."

Of course my handgun was close by so I grabbed it and headed through the house searching. Even after coming out of a dead sleep, on allergy medication to beat it all and having a decent amount of terror inside of me, I remember telling myself to keep my finger off of the trigger. I didn't want the dog to bark and me get spooked and start shooting. Or even worse I didn't a family member to surprise me. I kept telling myself over and over "if you have to shoot, make damn sure you know who you are shooting." The only light on in the house at that time is a florescent light that we keep in our kitchen in case our son gets up wanting a drink in the middle of the night.

I finally make it to the kitchen where I keep a rechargeable flashlight mounted to the wall. After clearing the house I walk back and shut the back door. I walk back into my bedroom where I find my wife sitting up, gun in hand, finger off trigger. She told me that if anyone besides me or our son came into the bedroom she would make sure that we would need new carpet. So what opened our back door? Once again, in our haste to get to bed I must have not pushed the door all the way shut when I came in from taking the trash out earlier that night. The back of our house always taking the brunt of high winds. Our storm door was damaged last week and I haven't hung a replacement yet. And due to the bad winds we had last night, and due to my "over sight" I got a rude awakening this morning.

I think even in a scary situation that the wife and I did ok with keeping safety in mind even when we thought we had an intruder inside of our home. Of course I'm sure it wasn't perfect. So if anyone would like to offer some advice on what we did right or wrong, I'm all ears. That's how we learn.

Last edited by self preservation; 02-19-2013 at 12:13 PM.

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Edmund Burke

self-pres·er·va·tion (slfprzr-vshn)
n.
1. Protection of oneself from harm or destruction.
2. The instinct for individual preservation; the innate desire to stay alive.

You can get some body armor and keep it in the BR. Takes 1 sec to put it on.

And one should practice clearing the house...you had to go through some or much of your house to get to a light .. may wish to add a switch in or near the BR that would turn on the lights elsewhere. Most bad guys will scat once they think they'll be discovered.

And a shotgun may be a better choice than a handgun ... ya can't miss..

Otherwise, all is well ... you did fine. And close that dang door...(I do the same sometimes lol).. so ya trace around the house inside & out .. fun.

You can get some body armor and keep it in the BR. Takes 1 sec to put it on.

And one should practice clearing the house...you had to go through some or much of your house to get to a light .. may wish to add a switch in or near the BR that would turn on the lights elsewhere. Most bad guys will scat once they think they'll be discovered.

And a shotgun may be a better choice than a handgun ... ya can't miss..

Otherwise, all is well ... you did fine. And close that dang door...(I do the same sometimes lol).. so ya trace around the house inside & out .. fun.

Lighting was an issue. I'm thinking about moving my rechargeable flashlight to the bedroom instead of the kitchen.

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Edmund Burke

self-pres·er·va·tion (slfprzr-vshn)
n.
1. Protection of oneself from harm or destruction.
2. The instinct for individual preservation; the innate desire to stay alive.

Why not add a weaponlight? Assuming the gun you grabbed is one that always stays at home (or your wife's), might as well just keep one on there.

I recently added a TLR-1S to my [almost] EDC gun, and got a Safariland holster to accompany it so it never has to come off. Works like a charm! Plus the strobe is enough to make anyone seize up.

The gun I grabbed is my EDC. At the end of the day it comes out of my holster and goes into a holster on my bed. My "stay at home" gun is a S&W .357 mag that hangs on the coat rack behind the front door. My wife's .380 is her EDC. I wouldn't mind adding a light to my Glock, but then it wouldn't fit my Serpa or Foxx holster anymore. But yes, lighting was an issue. I'm just proud that even in a moment of terror (even though it was a "false alarm" I didn't know that at the time) that the wife and I both were able to think fairly clear and make judicious choices.

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Edmund Burke

self-pres·er·va·tion (slfprzr-vshn)
n.
1. Protection of oneself from harm or destruction.
2. The instinct for individual preservation; the innate desire to stay alive.

At the end of the day you handled yourself well. Most importantly no innocents were hurt. Keep in mind, when in doubt take it slow and by the numbers. It's your home, you know it intimately better than any criminal ever will so you can afford caution. 100/100

Originally Posted by self preservation

The gun I grabbed is my EDC. At the end of the day it comes out of my holster and goes into a holster on my bed. My "stay at home" gun is a S&W .357 mag that hangs on the coat rack behind the front door. My wife's .380 is her EDC. I wouldn't mind adding a light to my Glock, but then it wouldn't fit my Serpa or Foxx holster anymore. But yes, lighting was an issue. I'm just proud that even in a moment of terror (even though it was a "false alarm" I didn't know that at the time) that the wife and I both were able to think fairly clear and make judicious choices.

At the end of the day you handled yourself well. Most importantly no innocents were hurt. Keep in mind, when in doubt take it slow and by the numbers. It's your home, you know it intimately better than any criminal ever will so you can afford caution. 100/100

I took my time. Stopped, listened and looked. It's just a lot to process all at once. Plus being in a state of fear changes the game. I'm just glad it was nothing and no one got hurt. We read all the time how these kinda things go wrong. I don't want to be that guy.

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Edmund Burke

self-pres·er·va·tion (slfprzr-vshn)
n.
1. Protection of oneself from harm or destruction.
2. The instinct for individual preservation; the innate desire to stay alive.

The gun I grabbed is my EDC. At the end of the day it comes out of my holster and goes into a holster on my bed. My "stay at home" gun is a S&W .357 mag that hangs on the coat rack behind the front door. My wife's .380 is her EDC. I wouldn't mind adding a light to my Glock, but then it wouldn't fit my Serpa or Foxx holster anymore. But yes, lighting was an issue. I'm just proud that even in a moment of terror (even though it was a "false alarm" I didn't know that at the time) that the wife and I both were able to think fairly clear and make judicious choices.

Ah, gotcha. There's some lights that just slide onto the rail, too. Much easier than screwing/unscrewing something like what I have. I'm glad you handled it well, and even more glad it was just the wind! I've been in the same spot, but cleared the house with my 12 gauge. Turns out my roommate had come home from vacation, drunk, a week early, and at 3AM. Boy, did he get a nice welcome back!

Once more into the fray.
Into the last good fight I'll ever know.
Live and die on this day.
Live and die on this day.

"I knew one thing: as soon as anyone said you didn't need a gun, you'd better take one along that worked."
Raymond Chandler

These false alarms are actually a good thing. Now you can learn from your mistakes.

I would suggest though a better plan for the next time, just incase it isn't just a door your forgot to shut completely.

You need a light beside your bed or elsewhere you sleep. Research the light before you buy. I walked into my favorite gun store looking for a quality weapon light and walked out with a surefire fury. This is not a weapon light. I did not know that until I got it home.

I would suggest a stand alone flashlight and a weapon light if money allows. You do not want to be clearing your house with the muzzle of your gun, but it is a lot easier to shoot with a weapon light.

You can use a tool-less mount to mount the light to your EDC. Some of these are cheaply made though. You can also just leave the tool to the mount with it if you would prefer a more secure mount.

Next, what about your kid(s)? Probably the most important part of your life, but it seems like he was forgotten. You and your family need to decide the best way to go about it together but I would suggest them gathering in the same room with the other firearm. Have a plan when re-entering the room with your family. Don't leave it to chance. "Call and response" worked well for the military, it can work just as well for your family. Let them know you're about to open the door.

Lastly, work out a routine to secure your house. That should never be left forgotten.

I know though, it is hard to come up with all of this at 3 in the morning from a dead sleep. Think about it now and talk it over with your family.

I am glad everything turned out for the better.

No man alive can beat me in a fair fight: It's not fair to chase a man down and beat him.

These false alarms are actually a good thing. Now you can learn from your mistakes.

I would suggest though a better plan for the next time, just incase it isn't just a door your forgot to shut completely.

You need a light beside your bed or elsewhere you sleep. Research the light before you buy. I walked into my favorite gun store looking for a quality weapon light and walked out with a surefire fury. This is not a weapon light. I did not know that until I got it home.

I would suggest a stand alone flashlight and a weapon light if money allows. You do not want to be clearing your house with the muzzle of your gun, but it is a lot easier to shoot with a weapon light.

You can use a tool-less mount to mount the light to your EDC. Some of these are cheaply made though. You can also just leave the tool to the mount with it if you would prefer a more secure mount.

Next, what about your kid(s)? Probably the most important part of your life, but it seems like he was forgotten. You and your family need to decide the best way to go about it together but I would suggest them gathering in the same room with the other firearm. Have a plan when re-entering the room with your family. Don't leave it to chance. "Call and response" worked well for the military, it can work just as well for your family. Let them know you're about to open the door.

Lastly, work out a routine to secure your house. That should never be left forgotten.

I know though, it is hard to come up with all of this at 3 in the morning from a dead sleep. Think about it now and talk it over with your family.

I am glad everything turned out for the better.

I was a good learning experience. A damn scary experience, but an experience all the same. Light was an issue. I had a little light coming from the kitchen but that was it. I'm thinking about getting one of these cool 12ga pistol grip shotguns that you can mount a light to for home defense. For the mean time I have moved my rechargeable flash light to the bedroom. I told the wife to stay in bed so we didn't bump in the hallway and mistake each others identity. My son's bedroom door, despite sanding the top of the door several times, always catches a little when opening it and it always made a fairly loud "pop" when it is opened. I hadn't heard this so I knew his door hadn't been touched. Plus I could see his door from the kitchen. I mostly stood still waiting to hear a coffee table or lamp being bumped into. I knew odds were that he didn't know my house like I do and would make noise at some point.

When moving room to room I tried to move in a manner that if I did have to fire I wouldn't be shooting in the direction of either bedroom. Keep in mind that my house is only a 1200 square foot, single story home (sucks being poor) so I didn't have a lot of ground to cover. Now if I lived in a 2 story, 4000 square foot home, that would have been a different story. But as you said, it is a lot to process at the moment. But I did keep safety in mind and kept my fear level to the point that if I heard a small noise I didn't just start shooting randomly. On a more humorous note, I don't want to paint a horrible image in anyone's head, but lets just say that I sleep in comfort. I kept thinking that if I did discover an intruder I probably wouldn't have to shoot because he would probably die from laughing after seeing my pale body and "extremely white" assets if you know what I mean...

Last edited by self preservation; 02-27-2013 at 10:14 AM.

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Edmund Burke

self-pres·er·va·tion (slfprzr-vshn)
n.
1. Protection of oneself from harm or destruction.
2. The instinct for individual preservation; the innate desire to stay alive.

So you had both of your weapons unholstered? That seems tactically sound, if it went to a grappling match you could already turn to your night stick.

If nothing else it would make the encounter more awkward for the intruder.

I know the pistol grip only shotguns seem cool but most people cannot shoot them well and the people who can can always shoot a stocked shotgun better. Personally I like the traditional stock on my shotguns as they seem easier to use.

I read that the 20ga is better for home defense, especially for smaller statued people such as women. It slings less lead, but It should do well.

Would you trade your wife or son for a larger house? Then you're not poor, you just wish you had a bigger house.

No man alive can beat me in a fair fight: It's not fair to chase a man down and beat him.

So you had both of your weapons unholstered? That seems tactically sound, if it went to a grappling match you could already turn to your night stick.

If nothing else it would make the encounter more awkward for the intruder.

I know the pistol grip only shotguns seem cool but most people cannot shoot them well and the people who can can always shoot a stocked shotgun better. Personally I like the traditional stock on my shotguns as they seem easier to use.

I read that the 20ga is better for home defense, especially for smaller statued people such as women. It slings less lead, but It should do well.

Would you trade your wife or son for a larger house? Then you're not poor, you just wish you had a bigger house.

I was thinking the pistol grip shotgun would be idea due to it's size and maneuverability. I fear a full sized shotgun with the traditional stock would be to big to move around. Like you say, I'm sure the pistol grip shotgun would be hard to shoot,but lets be honest...you wouldn't have to be able to shoot well at all to spray your target. Especially at close range. Plus I have been reading on what rounds penetrate walls and such worse than others. The shotgun seems to be the way to go in this area. But I'm not done researching just yet so who knows what I will come up with?

And no, I wouldn't trade them for anything. In that respect I am a pretty rich man. No complaints about my small house. Love seems to grow better inside a small house anyways..

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Edmund Burke

self-pres·er·va·tion (slfprzr-vshn)
n.
1. Protection of oneself from harm or destruction.
2. The instinct for individual preservation; the innate desire to stay alive.

I was thinking the pistol grip shotgun would be idea due to it's size and maneuverability. I fear a full sized shotgun with the traditional stock would be to big to move around. Like you say, I'm sure the pistol grip shotgun would be hard to shoot,but lets be honest...you wouldn't have to be able to shoot well at all to spray your target. Especially at close range. Plus I have been reading on what rounds penetrate walls and such worse than others. The shotgun seems to be the way to go in this area. But I'm not done researching just yet so who knows what I will come up with?

And no, I wouldn't trade them for anything. In that respect I am a pretty rich man. No complaints about my small house. Love seems to grow better inside a small house anyways..

For home defense this would be ideal. If you purchase a pistol grip shotgun that has never had a stock attached, then you can also shorten the barrel to less than 18" as long as the over-all length of the shotgun stays over 26". Having a 26" shotgun loaded with 5 or 6 rounds of 00 buck would be an excellent fight stopper. The gun is easy to maneuver, and you don't really have to worry about aiming the gun in the close distances found inside a home. All you would need to do is point at the attacker and fire. This is an ideal home-defense weapon for inside the home.

If you want a shotgun that could also be carried outside the home or in the vehicle then I would go with an 18" 590A1 from Mossberg. I have one of these and it has the collapsible stock, which really cuts down on the length of the gun. It isn't as easy to maneuver inside the house, but it is an excellent self-defense weapon.

But for inside the home, you can't go wrong with the pistol-grip shotgun.

"I never in my life seen a Kentuckian without a gun..."-Andrew Jackson

"Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect every one who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are ruined."-Patrick Henry; speaking of protecting the rights of an armed citizenry.